Kantor Dental Group & Implants

Hello, I am Dr. Grey Kantor, here with my father, Dr. Ezra Kantor in San Rafael, California at Kantor Dental Group, Aesthetic Dentistry and Implantology.

Today I want to talk about oral conscious sedation. This is, kind of, above laughing gas, and a method to… If you’re a little scared about going to the dentist, it can be a nice way to calm your nerves but still get the much needed dental work. Oral conscious sedation is very safe. Some might call it sleep dentistry, however, you’re not fully asleep. You are aware; you can be talked to and we’ll ask you questions during the procedure but you won’t remember most of it and you may not remember any of it. So you’ll be able to get your dental work done and never know you were here. Which some people think is good.

And it is, because what it allows us to do is to accomplish a great deal of work in a short period of time and still have you cooperating. You may not know you’re cooperating, but it’s… Remember, it’s conscious sedation. You’re never asleep; you are in a state of limited to non-existent anxiety, an anxiety which most people who use it seem to have when they come to the dentist. This eliminates all of that, and then the work is done. You leave the office, usually you need somebody to take you home, and subsequently to that, you don’t remember very much of it but you’ve had all of this work done and it makes the experience atraumatic and allows us to accomplish a great deal with your cooperation.

And it’s very safe. Extremely safe. During the procedure, we usually augment the sedatives we use with nitrous oxide and oxygen. So you’re always getting at least 80% oxygen in the air mix that you’re taking in, and that’s about… That’s four times the amount of oxygen that’s in the air we breathe, so it’s extremely safe. And, of course, I am specially trained to use this. So I have a lot of experience with it and we find that it makes it… It’s good for everybody, all around. It’s a win-win situation. And it’s a very low cost to the patient. If you have anxiety at the dentist, which many people do, consider doing this and if you have any further questions about it, feel free to come and talk to me or to Dr. Grey.

Yeah, here at Kantor Dental Group in San Rafael, California. Please subscribe. Thank you for watching.

Cavities can be a real problem for a child’s health, even when they still have baby teeth. Unfortunately, many parents struggle to provide children with effective ways to avoid tooth decay and to prevent cavities. In fact, the question we hear most often from parents is “How can I protect my children from cavities?”

Regular visits to a dentist with pediatric experience is, of course, vital, but you need to prioritize dental health every day, not just twice a year when you take the kids to see us. Luckily, there are four simple but effective tactics that you can embrace to prevent cavities year-round.

1. Enforce brushing twice a day, every day.

The best way to prevent cavities is with regular brushing and tooth care, yet many parents struggle to enforce preventative oral care. Make sure to prioritize brushing before school and before bed every day, and be careful to set a good example by brushing regularly yourself. If your child is resisting, it may be worth considering incentives that give your child additional reasons to brush, such as stickers or other bonuses.

2. Use regular toothpaste with fluoride once your child is old enough to spit it out, not children’s toothpaste.

Many parents assume that children’s toothpaste is ideal for kids of any age, but the reality is that most are designed for very small children, not yet old enough to brush properly. Many of such toothpastes are not strong enough to totally eliminate the bacteria that can cause cavities. Once your child is old enough to spit out toothpaste while brushing, toothpastes with a normal amount of fluoride are ideal. You’ll better fight off cavities and prevent tooth decay. If you are concerned about the ingredients or flavors of regular toothpastes, we’d be happy to discuss some alternative options with you the next time you visit our offices.

3. Maintain a healthy diet— one without lots of sugary foods.

According to the American Dental Association, your child’s diet greatly affects how quickly tooth decay develops. The main culprit in cavity development is sugar. The best way to reduce your child’s risk of cavities is to cut out unnecessary sugars such as cake and candy as much as possible. If you allow your children to indulge in sweets occasionally then the length of time that sugar sits on the teeth can also be a factor. Drinking a soda in five minutes and then rinsing with water is not nearly as bad as sipping a soda for 3 hours. Keep in mind also that even healthy sources of sugar, such as fruit, can cause cavities. Reduce this risk by serving kids fruit with the skin still on. The skin contains vital nutrients, and as an added bonus, it helps clean the teeth!

4. Protect permanent teeth with dental sealants.

Once your child starts losing baby teeth and growing permanent teeth in their place, it’s time to look into sealants. Dental sealants are a thin plastic coating over the chewing surfaces on your child’s back teeth, and they can prevent cavities in the places they are most common. When your child is old enough to get sealants, we will let you know that it is an option.

If you consistently do these four things, your children’s oral health will be in the best shape possible. Remember to ask your dentist if there are any other practices that may help keep your child’s teeth cavity-free. Depending on their age, we may be able to suggest additional things you can do to prevent cavities, such as flossing. At Kantor Dental, we believe that your child’s dental health is so important. Come talk to us to see how we can work together to prevent cavities from becoming a problem in your child’s life.

Looking for the right dentist can feel overwhelming. Not only do many people feel nervous about going to the dentist at all, but many people also have trouble figuring out which dentist they can trust. In fact, this nervousness related to dentists means that many people avoid going to the dentist altogether. This leads to poor oral health, which ultimately causes many chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

You can’t afford not to find a dentist you feel comfortable visiting regularly. Your health will suffer. Still, it can be a challenge to find the right dentist for your needs. Luckily, there are five things that you should look for when choosing a dentist that will make the process go much more smoothly.

1. Good reputation

High-quality patient care should be your number one concern when choosing a dentist, which is why the reputation of a dentist matters. Look online to say what other patients have to say about dentists you are considering, ask friends and family for recommendations, and make sure that most people have positive things to say about the dentist you are considering. A good dentist should be well-liked by most patients, so a large number of complaints may be a warning sign. You can also check a dentist’s record with the California state dental board to find out if there are any suspicious claims against them.

2. Clean, modern facilities with up-to-date technology

Dental technology has advanced a lot in the past ten years, and if your dentist has not updated their equipment for decades, you may not be getting the best care possible. Look for a dental office that has up-to-date equipment because this tends to indicate a dentist’s commitment to keeping themselves apprised of changes in the field. Cleanliness is perhaps even more important. The general cleanliness of your dentist’s office shows how much they value hygiene— a must for proper dental care.

3. Friendly, responsive, and well-trained staff

Most people don’t exactly love going to the dentist, but a friendly staff can make the experience much less scary. Beyond simply liking your dentist, you need to feel like you are being well-served by the entire team from the receptionist to the dental hygienist. In addition, find out what kind of training the team has because they are a vital part of your care, too.

4. Easy accessibility

No matter how much you love your dentist, you may not go as often as you should if they are incredibly far away or never seem to have available appointments. Find a practice that is accessible and that will be responsive to your needs.

5. Rapport that makes you feel comfortable

If you don’t feel comfortable around your dentist, they aren’t the right person for your needs, regardless of how well-loved they are in general or how expert they are in their field. You need to have a good rapport with your dentist and feel like you can ask them any question you may have about your oral health. Ultimately, whether or not you trust a dentist indicates whether or not you are choosing the right dentist.

Of course, the only way you will find out if a dentist is the right fit is to go for a visit. At Kantor Dental, we welcome all patients for a preliminary consultation at any time. Our team is happy to welcome you and answer any questions you may have about our practice. Call us today to set up an appointment to see for yourself if we can serve your dental needs.

So did you feel it?
I did not feel the anesthesia at all.
Hello, I’m Dr. Grey Kantor here at Kantor Dental Group in San Rafael, California. Today, I want to talk to you about dental anesthesia. Here at Kantor Dental Group, we practice painless anesthesia. What does that mean to you? That means we use all sorts of techniques to make it so you don’t feel a thing during your dental appointment. I actually train people in dental anesthesia at the University of the Pacific in San Francisco. We would use distraction techniques and graceful hand motions that allow anesthesia to be painless. Also, noise canceling headphones and any noise in your ears, those distractions, they really help, you won’t even know what’s going on. Just listen to what some of our patients have to say.
So did you feel anything?
What?
Did you feel anything?
No.
Oh, good.
Great injection. I didn’t feel a thing, thanks.
Anesthesia was great, just a little, bitty baby poke. And then the second poke they gave me, I couldn’t feel it, so it’s pretty fast.

If you care about your dental hygiene, you probably know that it’s important to visit the dentist for regular checkups and teeth cleanings. Dentists will always recommend that you brush your teeth at home and floss to get rid of plaque, but at the same time, it’s crucial for you to come in person so that you can get a more thorough cleaning.

When you eat, remnants of food particles remain on your teeth. The sugars in these foods feed bacteria, which builds up over time. This biofilm of bacteria is known as plaque, and it harms your oral health unless it is regularly removed. Plaque can be mostly removed through regular brushing, but some inevitably remains because brush bristles can’t catch everything. Plaque between teeth, along the gum line, and in hard-to-reach locations around molars may not be reached by a toothbrush at all.

This leftover plaque hardens into tartar, which cannot be removed without professional cleaning. Over time, tartar makes it progressively more difficult to clean teeth effectively. Plaque will continue to build up, leading to tooth decay and cavities. Without regular teeth cleanings, your oral health can significantly decline.

At a teeth cleaning session, a dentist will use high-power brushes and fluoride paste in order to remove plaque and tartar from your teeth, and to get those hard-to-reach places that your toothbrush can miss. Tooth cleaning has numerous benefits such as a whiter smile, healthier gums and a lower risk of tooth decay. However, you may wonder how often this is necessary; the answer depends on the health of your teeth, as well as the type of cleaning that you want.

The basic recommendation from the American Dental Association is to visit your dentist once a year for cleaning; however, this can be raised if you have a history of periodontal (gum) disease or a condition such as heart disease or diabetes. These conditions link to dental problems that may require you to get cleaning more often in order to avoid oral hygiene issues.

Furthermore, if you want your dentist to remove stains from your teeth, you will need to arrange a special appointment to get your teeth cleaned. Smoking, drinking coffee or tea or eating certain foods may stain your teeth, so you should consider changing these habits if you want to avoid excessive tooth cleaning appointments.

Regular tooth cleaning should fit under your dental insurance, but extra appointments for whitening and other procedures will cost you extra. That’s why you may want to reduce the number of cleaning appointments you have unless you absolutely need them – you can do this by quitting smoking and taking better care of your teeth at home so that your teeth are healthier overall.

Today, I want to talk about 3D X-rays, otherwise known as a CAT scan, and how they are important when working with implants. When working with implants, there are some anatomical structures that can be dangerous to come across when you’re screwing in the implant. So an important thing is to watch out for these anatomical structures. One of which, here you see this red line, red dot here in this view, red line in this view. That is your nerve that you do not want to run into with the implant. Hitting that nerve can cause paresthesia, which will make it so you could be tingly or numb in that area. We definitely don’t want to get near that.

Having a three-dimensional X-ray allows us, not only be very careful about that nerve, but also plan for the placement of the implant, the implant is in yellow here, plan for the placement of the implant to be in the perfect position. That way we’re watching out for any anatomical structures; on bottom it’s usually your nerve, but on top you have a sinus that we have to worry about.

If you want your implants to be placed perfectly and not have to worry about any of those anatomical structures, come here to Kantor Dental Group, we’ll work with you at placing your implant in the perfect position. Again, we are Kantor Dental Group, Aesthetic Dentistry and Implantology. Thanks for listening, and please subscribe.

It’s time for your child’s first dental visit, often a time when both parents and kids get nervous. It seems as though your child is reaching a new milestone every day. From the first smile to the first tooth, your baby’s dental health is important, and the first dental appointment may be the next milestone. If it is time for your child to meet the dentist for the first time, you probably have lots of questions about what to expect. Not to worry. As parents, we all know how this feels so we developed a short bit of information to help take any possible surprises out of the equation.

Is it time to see the dentist?

The first question you probably have is regarding the normal age for a child’s first dental appointment. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends scheduling the first visit by their first birthday. It could even be sooner, depending upon your child’s dental development, but a good guideline is “first tooth or first birthday.”

This may seem premature to a lot of parents, but there is much more that will go into your child’s first visit than simply checking for cavities. Much of it will simply be a learning experience and a time for your child to meet and become familiar with your family dentist.

How should I prepare?

First of all, don’t stress. If you are worried or afraid about the appointment, your child will feel the same way, act like you’re going to get your hair cut or get some ice cream. You want it to be a fun experience and something to forward to. One way to prepare is by reading books or watching videos about dental health.

It is also important to think of any questions you may have beforehand. We all know how it feels to remember something you wanted to ask the doctor as soon as you pull out of the office parking lot, so you may want to make a short list of questions.

What will happen on the first visit?

Your child’s first dental appointment will likely include little actual treatment. The dentist will do a routine examination of your child’s mouth, but generally, this initial visit is about education and becoming familiar with the process. Things that you and your dentist may discuss include:

– Good oral hygiene and habits

– Teething and developmental milestones

– Proper nutrition and how to avoid cavities

Your child’s first visit to the dentist is certainly a big milestone, but it should not seem daunting. By the time you leave, you will probably have learned a lot and your child will have made a new friend.

Hello, I’m Dr. Grey Kantor here at Kantor Dental Group, Aesthetic Dentistry and Implantology. Today, I want to talk to you about a surgical guide for implants. This is a guide that allows us to place the implants in the perfect position. What I mean by that is if you place an implant by hand, there can be slight angulation variants, which may or may not be beneficial. With the guide, we can place it and plan it ahead of time using a 3D scan. We can place it perfectly in the right position that we want. Using a guide does three things. It allows us to place it in the perfect position, it reduces surgical time, which we all know is much more comfortable for you the patient, so it can go a lot faster, almost half the time, the surgical time, which in turn, the third thing, is it decreases post-op sensitivity, so, afterward, you’ll be feeling a lot less pain and discomfort.

The way the guide is made is we take an impression of your teeth and then we also do a 3D CAT scan. We merge those together to create this surgical guide. The surgical guide, if you see here, is somebody’s teeth and some missing teeth right in this area, it holds onto the teeth and allows us to place it right here in those keyholes, so we get an exact perfect location of the implants. The guides are an extra cost; however, they are very worth it in my opinion and I would suggest you ask for a guide, whether you go to us or any office for implants.

We love doing implants here at Kantor Dental Group. We’re located in San Rafael, California. Come see us for those perfectly placed implants, and we hope to see you soon.

I’m Dr. Grey Kantor, here with Kantor Dental Group, Aesthetic Dentistry and Implantology. Today I want to talk about what happens when you lose a tooth. You don’t just lose the tooth. A lot of things happen surrounding that tooth that can be hard to do an implant or a bridge later on, so it’s important to know the consequences of losing a tooth. Our teeth are only held into place because of the teeth surrounding it on either side, as well as the teeth it’s biting on, and your cheek and your tongue. If you didn’t have a cheek, your teeth would fall outward. If you didn’t have a tongue, your teeth would go inward. All these anatomical structures really hold our teeth into place. Let’s see what happens if you lose a tooth.

Say you lose this tooth right here with the red X on it. The teeth around it will start to tilt inward, and the top tooth will start to come downward. Another thing that happens is the bone right here begins to go downward as well, creating less and less bone to work with, say if you wanted to do an implant. If you want to do a bridge in this case, it would also be difficult because in order to prepare for the bridge, you may cause the necessity of a root canal, because of how tilted the teeth are. So that’s one thing… That’s actually three things that happen when you lose a tooth. The teeth start to tilt, the top teeth come down, and the bone starts to resorb down where the tooth was.

The last thing that happens is something called pneumatization. Pneumatization has to do with the top teeth, so say you’re missing a top tooth and just beneath the top teeth is what’s called the sinus. That’s this area right here. So you have the sinus right there, which is also only keeps its shape due to the teeth surrounding it. If there’s no tooth there, it’ll end up resorbing, just like the bottom teeth. This is, instead of resorbing from the part where the teeth is, it’s resorbing from the back side where the root is. You can see here, pneumatization is where the bone resorbs from the sinus and you lose bone structure in order to place the implant. As you can see, placing an implant in this area would be very difficult because there’s very little bone right there to hold the initial placement. This would require a sinus graft in order to put an implant there.

If you have any more questions about this or would like to know more about what happens after you lose a tooth, definitely come see us at Kantor Dental Group. I’m Dr. Grey Kantor, Kantor Dental Group, Aesthetic Dentistry and Implantology. Thanks for watching, and please subscribe.

Hello, I’m Dr. Grey Kantor. I’m here at Kantor Dental Group, Aesthetic Dentistry and Implantology.

Today, I want to talk about the difference between crowns and veneers. Many people have this question because they want to know if on a front tooth they should get a crown or a veneer.

Veneers are kinda like we think of as a nail, a nail veneer. It’s very thin, it only needs to be reduced… The tooth is only reduced 0.7 millimeters. So, 7/10 of a millimeter, very small reduction on the front teeth.

A crown, on the other hand, covers both the front and the back of the teeth. It really strengthens the tooth, giving it a full surrounding coverage as well as changes the shape and the color to make it look nice.

Here’s an example I have here. This is some teeth up front, the front four teeth. You can see they’re a little misshapen and what you can do with veneers is just kinda shave down the front 0.7 millimeters, like we talked about. And then put on veneers right on top, making them perfectly in alignment.

A crown on the other hand, is going to be a little different. A crown is for a broken down tooth, that has decay, fractures on both the front and the back of the tooth and it needs full coverage in order to have the strength to survive the forces that are found in the mouth. So what you do is you reduce it down, and you do have to reduce it down a lot more than you would with a veneer. Not a lot more, maybe twice as much. And then you build it back up and put a crown over the top or the whole thing. So, it’s more of a three dimensional thing, all the way around the tooth, while veneers just on the front of the tooth with minimal reduction.

Again, my name’s Dr. Grey Kantor with Kantor Dental Group, Aesthetic Dentistry and Implantology. Thanks for watching and please subscribe.